Contemplation
by YukinoKara
Summary: If curiosity killed the cat, contemplation confused the curious, as Envy is unfortunate enough to discover- and he'll be damned if he's the only one to suffer.


Envy walked down the streets of Central, lazily looking around through blue eyes which were not his own. In an attempt to be 'subtle' -not that he gave a damn whether he pleased the bitch by abiding her wishes or not- he had shifted into a boring, young adult with a forgettable face. He shook his head to move the annoying, dull brown hair out of his eyes, and continued to waste the seemingly endless free time he'd had lately.

He glanced up at the lowering sun and sighed in boredom- how could the pathetic humans around him actually _enjoy_ having unnecessary time on their hands? Envy grimaced in disgust and absent-mindedly turned his head to look into the shops he passed. A sub-par bakery, an untasteful hat shop, a second-hand toy shop filled to the brim with snot-nosed brats, a plant shop with a potted plant that looked suspiciously like his preferred form's hair, a bookstore… did that plant really look like his hair?!

Envy turned around sharply, ignoring the startled glances from people passing by, and strolled confidently into the shop. He walked up to the plant, and glared at it. Indeed, it bore a striking resemblance to his favoured hairstyle. He was seriously contemplating burning the offending plant for the heinous crime of copying his appearance, when he was so _rudely_ interrupted in his musings by a shop clerk who was too helpful for her own good.

"Excuse me, sir? Are you looking to buy this spider plant, or are you just looking?" Her voice was far too high, and there was a slight wheeze in her voice which indicated she may be a smoker. Envy sneered at her mentally, careful to maintain an indifferent expression on his face. Stupid humans, always engaging in risky activities despite the obvious, dangerous effect on their health.

He paused a moment to ensure his voice would not give away his disgust, and then spoke. "No thank you, I'm just looking." There- that didn't reveal how desperately he wanted to rip her limb from limb, burn her to ashes or suffocate her with the _precious_ plants that filled this filthy, useless establishment-

The woman beamed at him. "Okay, sir. Remember, use a good fertiliser when caring for your plants, after all- seeing things grow makes people happy!" With that said, she happily walked away, intent on blabbering on to other customers as if they actually gave a damn.

Envy blinked incredulously at her retreating back. Seeing things grow makes people happy? What the hell? Envy quickly regained his composure, and briskly walked out of the store. Speaking of growing, he hadn't bothered the Chibi in a while. Feeling slightly more cheerful at the thought of something to do, he changed his direction and headed for his apartment, still wondering what the clerk's statement meant.

* * *

Edward fell back onto his bed, sighing in exhaustion. "That damn colonel! After making us run around the town, looking for some 'dangerous criminal who poses a great risk to the community', who, as you know, turned out to be a petty 'thief' who stole his date for tonight, he had the nerve to make us stay back later and do _his_ damn paperwork?! I shouldn't be lying down here, I should be kicking his ass!" Edward growled lowly, and moved to get up, his eyes burning with renewed energy and fierce determination to give the bastard a piece of his mind.

Alphonse walked noisily into the room and sighed, standing in front of the door to prevent his brother from doing anything hasty again. "Forget it, brother. He's probably gone already. You're not planning on barging into a fancy restaurant just to yell at him _again_, are you?"

Edward grinned guiltily at Alphonse and relaxed against the bed again. "You're right, Al. I'll just kick his ass tomorrow!" He said happily, kicking off his shoes in random directions.

Alphonse sighed as the boots ricocheted off of the walls, leaving dark marks behinds, and fell with a dull thud on the floor. "You're going to have to clean that up, brother. We can't move if the place is dirty."

Edward rolled his eyes and sat up. "I'll do it later. I don't see why they need to be removed now. After all, this place needs some decoration."

Alphonse shook his head. "But, brother, it's dirty!"

Edward fixed Alphonse with a serious stare. "It's not dirty, Al. It's lived in."

Alphonse walked closer to him, and crossed his bulky arms. "Brother, if you don't clean it up right now, I'll sit on you."

Edward paled slightly as he eyed Alphonse's heavy, metal body. "You're joking, right?" When Alphonse moved closer to leer over Edward in an attempt to intimidate him, he realised Alphonse was serious and stood up quickly. "Fine, fine! I don't see what the big deal is, but fine."

Alphonse's eyes glowed brightly, his way of beaming at his brother. He stepped aside to allow Edward to walk to one wall, and watched as he used alchemy to remove the dirt. "That's cheating, brother!" In his opinion, cleanliness was achieved through elbow grease, not cheap shortcuts.

Edward shrugged and walked over to the next wall, where the stain was higher than the previous one. "You said clean it. You didn't say clean it _well_." Edward looked up at the stain, expecting to have to stand on his toes to reach it, but was shocked when he found that he could touch it while standing with both bare feet on the ground. "Hey, Al, look! I've gotten taller!" Edward grinned widely as he removed the dirt, and turned around to face his brother. "See!"

Alphonse shook his head. "You need to get your priorities straight, brother." He turned around and left the room, intending to check on the kitten he had hidden in the cupboard under the sink.

Edward pouted and crossed his arms. "I have too gotten taller!" He yelled, before turning around and sitting on the bed.

* * *

Envy chuckled quietly to himself from under the windowsill. He had shifted back into his preferred form –a welcome change from the dreary man with no taste in clothes- and had positioned himself under the Elric's temporary window- on the first floor; an unwise decision. After he had heard that Edward had apparently grown, he was reminded of the clerk's statement. "Seeing things grow makes people happy…" He'd spent far too much time thinking about what it could mean, and he still didn't get it! Deciding that it wasn't right for him to be the only one confused by the statement, he figured he should use it to his advantage.

He reached up and quietly tried to open the window. The latch gave away easily, and he felt the window move up slightly. The brats had left it unlocked? How unsafe. Envy grinned at the thought, and pushed it open. They should know better than to leave their windows unlocked- it might attract monsters.

Envy jumped up onto the windowsill, and looked inside. Edward was sitting on the bed, looking at him with an incredulous expression. He quickly glared at him, and pointed at him accusingly as he yelled, "you! What are _you_ doing here?!"

Envy clicked his tongue as he stepped inside. "Is that any way to treat your guests, Chibi? How… rude." Envy walked over to Edward and smirked down on him, waiting for another interesting reaction.

Edward stood up angrily, and fixed Envy with an annoyed glare. "I'm not short! And you're not a guest! And I'm not short!" Edward jabbed his finger into Envy's chest with each sentence, as if expecting the action to prove his points.

Envy rolled his eyes, before noticing that Edward had, indeed, grown taller. By roughly a centimetre, but he was still undeniably taller. Envy grinned slightly. But he was still short. "No, Chibi-san, you are still short- no matter how many times you deny it."

Edward clenched his teeth furiously and growled, "for your information, I happen to have grown! Take _that_!"

Envy almost laughed, but found that he was remembering the damn statement again. Annoyed that he still didn't understand it, he decided to confuse the angry Chibi in front of him. He smiled sunnily at Edward, and said, "you're right- you have grown!"

Edward looked at Envy suspiciously. First he was being cocky, arrogant, up himself, thinking that he's _so_ damn good because he happens to be _taller_ –focus, Ed- and now he's suddenly cheerful? Ignoring his instincts telling him to forget it, curiosity made him seek answers. "Why are you smiling?"

Envy grinned mentally. Bingo. "Because, Chibi," he leaned closer to Edward and smirked. "Seeing things grow makes people happy." Satisfied with Edward's obviously confused response of gaping at him stupidly, he turned around and jumped out of the window. Now _he_ could figure out the statement.


End file.
